The Gap is central but the main road through to Brisbane is awful for cycling on (busy and full of ute driving bogans).There is a bike path that links up through to near the Royal Brisbane Hospital but I have been told it is not great.That leaves you with Mt Nebo or over Settlement Road and out through Samford.

No bike shops in The Gap itself and the one I would suggest for Campy is Velo at The Grange.

I live in Mitchelton, and I think it's a great place to live. It's also very close to a very nice bike path that joins the Kedron Brook Bikeway. The KBB has a turnoff to a path & quiet on-road bikeway that takes you to Kedron Brook Rd, which has a bike lane and a bike awareness zone. This is about the only section that's close to being hazardous if riding into the city. It's a few hundred metres long, then continues on to Noble St, which is once again quiet, residential road. From there onto the Roma St Parklands bike path and you're in the CBD. It's a 45 minute ride for me (but you might do it much quicker; I'm a slowpoke. See http://app.strava.com/rides/2214329 for an example of the route I follow). Not much further, and you're on the Coronation Drive path (Bicentennial Bikeway), which will get you to the bottom of Mt Coot-Tha, or the start of the Centenary bike path to the Western suburbs. This will also take you onto the oft-recommended River Loop ride.

From a recreational standpoint, the KBB goes through to Toombul, where it becomes the Moreton Bay Cycleway. This extends all the way out to Redcliffe. It's a very pretty, flat ride. It passes the Nundah crit track, if you're into that sort of thing, which makes getting to and from races pretty easy.

Mitchelton is a short ride to Samford, which I'm told has some nice hills (I don't believe any climbing could be described as "nice"). It's also not far to ride to The Gap, although Settlement Rd can be quite narrow and windy. I wouldn't choose to ride it, but I've seen others ride there. You might try going via Waterworks Rd instead, but as sumgy has mentioned, it's a busy road.

There are bike shops at The Gap (99 Bikes, at least), but I doubt you'll find Campy dealers there. Neither of my preferred LBS do Campy either. Velo at the Grange is probably your best bet (per sumgy). And if it so happens you decide upon Mitchelton, it's not a very long ride away

One of the best things about bicycle commuting is that it can mitigate the displeasure of having to go to work. - BikeSnobNYCCycling is sometimes like bobbing for apples in a bucket full of dicks. - SydGuy

I spent a couple of years in Brissy (left at the end of 2009). We lived in Sherwood/Chelmer which we liked. From a cycling perspective that area is pretty much on the River Loop which is one of the main rides (40 - 50 km's dependent on route). There are a number of rides that start at various places around the Loop with one of the main ones leaving from Park Rd in Milton at around 6am on Sunday's (?). You can add in Mt Coot-tha for a bit of climbing.

Parts of Brisbane are hilly and there are some nasty pitches around without looking too hard! Mt Nebo was a personal favourite of mine (18 km's of climbing) and you can add in Mt Glorious for another 10.

Compared to Sydney, I found Brisbane preferable for riding although, as previously stated, there is a bit of a bogun element that you do come across from time to time. The roads are much better than Sydney and there is heaps less traffic and the main rides are less exposed to high speed areas (70+ kph zones).

There is a artirial bikeway along the Western & Southeast Freeways. It all depends what you want out of life in Brisbane. If you are wanting that little bit of suburban life but with bike access those two will work. If you want the single or childless couple's life you can also live in New Farm, West End, Toowong or Woolloogabba. Like I said it all depends what you want out of Brisbane

oh most places on the Inner North West are very hilly hence why there are no rail lines that way

Donald

BCC give us some more bikeways fore safe travel!!!!Upgrade the NCL now QR!!!!!!http://nakedcyclistbrissy.blogspot.com/My views do not represent any organisation I may be apart of unless otherwise stated

Max wrote:I live in Mitchelton, and I think it's a great place to live. It's also very close to a very nice bike path that joins the Kedron Brook Bikeway. The KBB has a turnoff to a path & quiet on-road bikeway that takes you to Kedron Brook Rd, which has a bike lane and a bike awareness zone. This is about the only section that's close to being hazardous if riding into the city. It's a few hundred metres long, then continues on to Noble St, which is once again quiet, residential road. From there onto the Roma St Parklands bike path and you're in the CBD. It's a 45 minute ride for me (but you might do it much quicker; I'm a slowpoke. See http://app.strava.com/rides/2214329 for an example of the route I follow). Not much further, and you're on the Coronation Drive path (Bicentennial Bikeway), which will get you to the bottom of Mt Coot-Tha, or the start of the Centenary bike path to the Western suburbs. This will also take you onto the oft-recommended River Loop ride.

Johnny_Monkey wrote:One final thing: How cold does it get in the winter? I am thinking of buying some windblock/airblock bib longs for here but suspect I won't need them in Brisbane.

Can you ride with shorts all year round?

Lol, depends on what your perspective on cold is??

Compared to summer where it's usually 30+ degrees with high levels of humidity and the over-night temp raely drops below 22, sub 5 degrees mornings are cold on early morning rides! The nice thing is once the sun is up it soon warms up and the layers start coming off.

Of course the southerners think that we Qld'ers are soft when we pull out the winter gear

Johnny_Monkey wrote:One final thing: How cold does it get in the winter? I am thinking of buying some windblock/airblock bib longs for here but suspect I won't need them in Brisbane.

Can you ride with shorts all year round?

Lol, depends on what your perspective on cold is??

Compared to summer where it's usually 30+ degrees with high levels of humidity and the over-night temp raely drops below 22, sub 5 degrees mornings are cold on early morning rides! The nice thing is once the sun is up it soon warms up and the layers start coming off.

Of course the southerners think that we Qld'ers are soft when we pull out the winter gear

5 degrees is cold enough but I suspect it warms up quickly once the sun is up. Maybe some arm and leg warmers would be the ticket. When I lived in Perth I would wear tights over my shorts in the mornings going to work but not have to use them in the evenings returning home.

Depends how early you get out.I wore Roubaix Bib-tights, long sleeve merino undershirt, jersey, windstopper jacket and gloves with a merino cap under my helmet a number of times last winter.By 9am it was much warmer.

Johnny_Monkey wrote:One final thing: How cold does it get in the winter? I am thinking of buying some windblock/airblock bib longs for here but suspect I won't need them in Brisbane.

Can you ride with shorts all year round?

Lol, depends on what your perspective on cold is??

Compared to summer where it's usually 30+ degrees with high levels of humidity and the over-night temp raely drops below 22, sub 5 degrees mornings are cold on early morning rides! The nice thing is once the sun is up it soon warms up and the layers start coming off.

Of course the southerners think that we Qld'ers are soft when we pull out the winter gear

5 degrees is cold enough but I suspect it warms up quickly once the sun is up. Maybe some arm and leg warmers would be the ticket. When I lived in Perth I would wear tights over my shorts in the mornings going to work but not have to use them in the evenings returning home.

actually- the thing about winter riding is if you ride early you won't have sun for hours and when it does come up it still doesn't warm up for ages.

There is a northside / southside thing in Brisbane, with the river being the divider. There are about 6 cycle bridges over the river, so not that common. If you want to commute, then use the bike paths, just don't expect them to be clear of walkers, dogs, prams etc. Many people commute on the main roads - some are not too bad (although most have pinch points), while other roads are downright dangerous.

On the southside, I think the main bike path runs along beside the south east freeway, with a spur towards Norman Park. The southside is generally flatter than the northside.

Wherever you live, on the weekend, the traffic is less heavy and you can pretty much ride anywhere that you can reach without too much hassle. On the weekends, I ride Mt Nebo / Glorious or down to Wynnum at the bay. One is hilly, the other flat. Most people on the Southside who do hills ride up Mt Gravatt, and on the west side ride up Mt Coot-tha.

I ride in shorts all year round. It's a bit cold in the Winter sometimes, but I wear arm warmers and get by. I don't commute though, and if it's too cold I go back to bed.

I don't know much about Campag shops but would try MB Cycles and Velo Cycles as a starting point.

The whole northside vs southside thing gets a bit parochial, each there own, I've lived both sides but I'm from NSW so we didn't have established roots here.

Northside is great for hills, southside less so. I live in Ashgrove next to The Gap, can't think of a better spot to be when you factor in proximity to city, river loop rides, Mt Cootha repeats, and best of all, nipping up Nebo/Glorious or loops around Samford Valley, Bunya, Clear Mtn, Dayboro, Mt Mee etc.

I know a lot of riders who commute from The Gap along Waterworks Rd, its not better or worse than most other roads, sure you can pick up bike paths and do side streets etc. but quite frankly I don't like meandering along creeks (route of many bike paths) which don't take me where i want to go.

We don't really do winter here. I actually felt a bit foolish buying knee warmers this year, but they were nice when you dip into hollows out around Samford at half five or so.

If you live within 5kms of the CBD, you can ride to anywhere...It comes down to budget... how much can you spend on accomodation.For me, the best places I have lived are South Bank, West End, Kangaroo Point... and - Red Hill... but Red hill was in my pub days period of life ..

Where you live will depend on your budget. Access to cycling infrastructure will also be influenced by that.

That said - I love in Acacia Ridge. It's on the sth side, about 14km out from the city. The cycle in is pretty good. A mix of flattish decent roads, with a mix of traffic levels. Once you get to know your way around from wherever you live, you'll work out what works for you best. And no - it is not usual for city buildings to have shower/cycle facilities, but there is Cycle2City and a number of other pay-for-use bicycle facilities around the city and surrounds. Some employers/buildings have them "in house".

Kenzo wrote:If you live within 5kms of the CBD, you can ride to anywhere...It comes down to budget... how much can you spend on accomodation.For me, the best places I have lived are South Bank, West End, Kangaroo Point... and - Red Hill... but Red hill was in my pub days period of life ..

I think if you do pay more and move closer you can ditch a car and save $$$ for the bigger mortgage that way?

Johnny_Monkey wrote:Hi there, It looks like I will be moving to Brisbane early next year. We are not sure of where we will be living yet and would like some suggestions for cycle-friendly areas.

What is cycle-friendly in your world? If you're looking for bike paths everywhere, Brisbane is pretty limited.

Someone else pointed to the bikeway which goes through the city - one version of that starts at the park in Everton Park and finishes out towards Nudgee Beach, passing the crit track on the way. You can then go on bike path and streets as far as Redcliffe. That's your main north side option, noting also the rides through Samford, or up to Mts Nebo and Glorious. It's also pretty good to train it up to Nambour and the like, and cycle home - mostly good roads, and about 100 kms if you head across to the coast once you reach Caboolture.

Southside there's the V1, a cycle path which kind of goes from the CBD kind of down to Gold Coast. I say kind of, because it doesn't completely join up but the gaps follow mostly the service roads alongside the Expressway. I rode down there last weekend - the thing about the Gold Coast round trip is the coffee and breakfast half way through. Sanctuary Cove for us, and very nice it was too. The cane fields around Gold Coast are good for long flat high speed riding. You've also got the rides south of Beenleigh, out towards the Scenic Rim, or over Mt Tamborine and so on.

If pressed, I'd suggest living somewhere like Greenslopes, maybe Holland Park. If you insist on northside, I'm personally a bit hazy, but Wilston, Grange, Everton Park and Ashgrove are places I'd be happy to hang my helmet.

And the three office blocks I've worked in over the last couple of years all have showers and basement parking. But your mileage may vary...

Johnny_Monkey wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. When we arrive we will probably stay centrally for the first 6 months until we buy a place.

Apart from cycling my other interest in football so I would be looking to join a club (masters at my age) and with 2 small children somewhere with lots of parkland.

My preference is to stay north of the river as I assume I will be working in the CBD.

I am still looking at The Gap but if the traffic is too bad then maybe Ashgrove might be better. If there are good cycling tracks to commute on then I will probably go further out.

Ashgrove, The Grange, Gordon Park, Kalinga would tick the football, near-CBD, cycle-friendly (not too hilly like Wilston) and parkland boxes. But of course, those suburbs are popular and not cheap.

Shops - Range = MB cycles but you will pay. I needed an Italian SR BB shell urgently - they had one on the shelf. Never found Velo helpful at all, River City Cycles not too bad. My LBS can get most Campy stock in within 48hrs and discount it for me so they get my vote!

Weather - we rode all winter (AT) 5 am. Coldest was 4.3 degrees; essential attire was Ay-Up lights, winter gloves, windblock bibknicks and a merino baselayer. By the time you start work at 9am though, you don't even need a jumper!

Johnny_Monkey wrote:I am still looking at The Gap but if the traffic is too bad then maybe Ashgrove might be better. If there are good cycling tracks to commute on then I will probably go further out.

Traffic in the Gap isn't *too* bad on the main road (waterworks road) in peak hour - especially if you can use the T2 lane, it gets more clogged up when you get into ashgrove. Off-peak, its fine.

Both the gap and ashgrove are leafy with lots of parks. There's bike paths that mostly link up through quiet streets through both suburbs, for family riding. For longer rides you can go gap creek road way, out into the mountains (glorious etc) or head up and over the big hill to the start of the really long bike path out to the bay. Both suburbs are fairly hilly though.

I grew up in Ashgrove - it is a beautiful leafy suburb with EVERYTHING a family could want.

Oakleigh State School is a wonderful little school on the border between Ashgrove and Enoggera, in a little sub-suburban locality called "Dorrington".

You will find plenty of parks and gardens, creeks for children to explore, mulberry trees laden with fruit in September/October, lots of shops, cafes, food outlets, bakers etc. The prices will likely be higher for renting, and definitely for buying, but I would sell my dead grandmother if it meant I could buy back in Ashgrove.

In fact - if anyone here has a dead grandmother I could sell I'd do that too.....

4km from the CBD and well served by buses, and an easy ride in as well up over Red Hill and down through the Normanby 5 ways. In that general area you might even consider Paddington and Red Hill as suburbs to look to live. Ashgrove has a bike store out towards The Gap, and Lifecycle is at the Normanby.